It’s the band name that perplexes NASCAR fans across the United States: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

No, this isn’t Dale’s side gig as a musician. Nor is it some sort of tribute from diehard NASCAR fans. They are a band led by Detroit duo Josh Epstein and Daniel Zott. Epstein explained the origin of the band’s name to Sporting News.

“We didn’t really have any ambitions of making it a real band, we didn’t know anyone was going to hear it,” Epstein said. “We didn’t know what kind of music we wanted to make and we both loved all kinds of music.

“We ended up naming it the most ridiculous name we could think. We kept it so we could go any direction we wanted to as opposed to having a name that has a sort of tone that sets the tone for what kind of genre of music we could make.

“We went from a hip-hop mixtape to putting up a serious album of indie rock. It’s nimble.”

And while Epstein told SN he’s never been to a NASCAR race, both he and Zott are big sports fans. The band’s latest tour brought them to Charlotte on Feb. 8, which isn’t just home to a number of NASCAR teams, but also the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

“When they signed [Fielder], it was, short-term, a really cool idea, long-term, a disaster,” Epstein said. “You can’t have him and Miguel in the lineup for the long haul.

“They’re going in more of a direction of speed. They were so reliant on the long ball and Prince Fielder had the worst playoffs I’ve ever seen of anyone. They needed him, if he would’ve just hit three home runs in the postseason, just at different times, we would’ve gone to the World Series. He could’ve helped so much.

"It’s bittersweet, because i think he’ll be an All-Star for seven years.”

Outside of the Tigers, Epstein considers himself more of a college football fan than pro, calling Michigan State’s Rose Bowl win in 2014 “one of the best days of my life.”

Both guys are big NBA fans, but Epstein yields to Zott when it comes to NBA fandom.

Their hometown Pistons have, of course, found themselves in the news a lot of late with the firing of coach Mo Cheeks. If Epstein were picking the next coach, his vote goes to Lionel Hollins, the former Grizzlies head man.

But what about Joe Dumars’ future? He points the finger at owner Tom Gores for some of the “win now” roster moves, and says if it was only Dumars making the picks, the team would’ve likely selected Trey Burke or Michael Cater-Williams instead of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, but that doesn’t hide some of the other blemishes.

“I loved the guy,” Epstein said. “I grew up a huge fan of the Bad Boys, I think he did a great job for a lot of years.

“But if you look at some of the bad decisions he made ... Josh Smith didn’t work out. Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva didn’t work out. The Nazr Mohammed move was a bust. … I kind of do feel like they’re one of the most poorly run teams in the NBA.”